Department for Communities and Local Government

Councillors: Complaints

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a councillor who is the subject of, or mentioned in, a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman has the right to know (1) the nature of the complaint, and (2) the identity of the person or persons making the complaint.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: There is no requirement that a councillor who is subject of, or mentioned in, a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman be informed of the nature of the complaint or the identity of the complainant. However, the Local Government Ombudsman’s practice is to request that local authorities ensure all interested parties within the local authority are aware of the investigation and are able to comment before the Ombudsman comes to a final decision.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

*No heading*

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether all government departments assess the impact on air quality when drawing up directly or indirectly related policies or legislation since the Supreme Court judgment on 29 April in R (on the application of ClientEarth) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2015] UKSC 28 and [2013] UKSC 25.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: HM Treasury’s Green Book guidance provides the framework for economic appraisal and evaluation of all Central Government policies, programmes and projects. In line with its advice, departments should reflect air quality impacts in decision-making wherever possible. Specific guidance is provided for government departments to use in valuing the impacts of air quality. This guidance has been available since 2013.   The Government is currently consulting on draft air quality plans. Alongside the air quality plans interim appraisal guidance has been published to reflect the latest health evidence related to Nitrogen Dioxide. This guidance supplements the Green Book guidance.   Both sets of guidance are available on the gov.uk website. Copies are attached. 



Supplementary Green Book Guidance
(PDF Document, 550.71 KB)




Air Quality Econanalysis
(PDF Document, 232.26 KB)

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Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as part of their water resource management responsibilities, water companies have been asked to look beyond their boundaries to secure sufficient water supply to satisfy future customer demand.

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish best practice guidelines as part of water resource management plans to ensure that the right solutions can be delivered at competitive prices.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ofwat and the Environment Agency published joint water resources management planning guidance in 2012. This included the expectation that water companies should consider all options to balance supply with demand, including water trading, cross boundary solutions and third party supplier solutions. Updated guidance is currently being prepared for publication for the next planning round.

*No heading*

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to commission a third-party audit of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, to be made available to assist water companies to adopt best practice when managing contracts for new reservoirs, in particular regarding the optimal use of outside contractors and specialist companies capable of constructing reservoirs.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government has not planned any third party audit. We note the National Audit Office published a report in June 2014 on the risks and governance of the Thames Tideway Tunnel and may choose to write a further report. Copies of the strategic and economic case for the TTT, cost-benefit analysis and peer reviewed supporting evidence will be placed in the House Library.   In respect of contracts for new reservoirs, Ofwat have said with reference to the Thames Tideway Tunnel that it is keen to explore whether this delivery model could work for other big projects in the water sector. We are not aware of any ongoing applications to construct new reservoirs.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current assessment of the number of Pakistani Christians who have fled to Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka through fear of persecution.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We gather information on this issue from external sources and have not conducted our own assessment of the numbers involved. We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to fulfil the human rights obligations set out in the Constitution of Pakistan and international law, including those relating to religious minorities.

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conditions in the detention centres where Pakistani Christians are detained in Bangkok, and whether the inmates include babies, children, lactating women and the infirm; what international obligations exist in regard to the detention of children in such circumstances; whether they have made representations to the UNHCR and the government of Thailand about those conditions; and if so, what response they have received.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not conducted a specific assessment of the detention centres where Pakistani Christians are detained. However, consular officials visit prisons and Immigration Detention Centres in Bangkok regularly to carry out their consular duties with respect to British citizens. Their assessment is that conditions are generally poor and they are aware that women and children are also detained. A number of international obligations exist in regard to the detention of children including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We have raised our concerns with the Thai Minister for Justice and senior officials. The Thai authorities have shown themselves willing to cooperate on work to improve prison conditions and we are ready to share our experience and expertise. We maintain a regular dialogue with many senior prison officials to address specific concerns. We meet the UN High Commissioner for Refugees regularly to discuss how we can assist their work, including around conditions of detention.

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the conditions in detention centres where Pakistani Christians are detained in Bangkok compare with the conditions in prisons in Thailand.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not conducted a specific assessment of the detention centres where Pakistani Christians are detained. However, consular officials visit prisons and Immigration Detention Centres in Bangkok regularly to carry out their consular duties with respect to British citizens. Their assessment is that conditions in prisons and detention centres are generally poor.

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they have been able to provide for refugees fleeing persecution in Pakistan in resolving their applications for asylum; and what is their estimate of the average time likely to elapse between an applicant lodging a claim for asylum in Bangkok and being resettled.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We work closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thailand on a wide range of refugee issues. We do not intervene in specific cases but aim to support the rights of those fleeing persecution as a whole. From our conversations with UNHCR we understand that the time taken to assess asylum applications in Thailand varies and can be anything from a few months to a couple of years, depending on the individual circumstances of each case. We understand the majority of applicants from Pakistan who seek refugee status are successful and they are then eligible for resettlement. The time taken for resettlement varies as it is dependent on each specific situation.

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work with the British Council to examine ways of assisting the children of Pakistani refugees to receive schooling and educational opportunities while their asylum cases are being considered.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The main problem refugees face in accessing appropriate opportunities for education in Thailand is the lack of proper documentation explaining their status. Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on refugees, therefore any documents provided by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are not necessarily accepted. We are working with UNHCR to support their requests to the Thai government to develop a form of documentation for refugees. This would allow refugees to access appropriate schooling and other opportunities. We work closely with the British Council in Thailand and have discussed this issue with them.

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risks of those Pakistani refugees who are living without legal status while their asylum claims are being assessed in Bangkok falling victim to trafficking and exploitation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on refugees and as such those people claiming asylum through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thailand have no formal legal status. Once any form of legal immigration status expires they are then deemed to be illegally in the country. Many are detained in Immigration Detention Centres awaiting deportation, or resettlement by the UNHCR should they qualify. Others live a vulnerable life as urban refugees open to trafficking and exploitation. We continue to work closely with the UNHCR in Thailand on a wide range of refugee issues. We are in contact with UNHCR to support their requests to the Thai government to develop a form of documentation for refugees, including those of Pakistani Christian origin, to assist their legal status in Thailand.

*No heading*

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether Russia is establishing, or is planning to establish, a forward air operating base in Syria; and whether they have discussed this issue with the government of Russia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are aware of reports that Russia may have deployed military personnel and aircraft to Syria, and we are monitoring those reports closely.The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed the situation in Syria with Foreign Minister Lavrov in June in the margins of the E3+3 talks with Iran, and discussions continue at official level. The Foreign Secretary continues to co-ordinate closely with regional and international partners on Syria and has had recent discussions with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir.

*No heading*

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the circumstances concerning the incursion of a Spanish customs vessel into Gibraltar British Territorial waters on 11 September, and what discussions they have had with the government of Spain on the matter.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: On 11 September a Spanish Guardia Civil vessel made an illegal incursion into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) and attempted to stop and board a Gibraltarian pleasure boat. The Royal Gibraltar Police, Gibraltar Customs and the Royal Navy attended the incident, during which the Guardia Civil vessel repeatedly manoeuvred recklessly endangering the other vessels and those on board. The Royal Navy challenged the Guardia Civil vessel as they always do, after which the Guardia Civil left BGTW. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), raised this unacceptable incursion and the dangerous behaviour of the Guardia Civil vessel at Ministerial level with the Spanish government.

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have taken, if any, in response to the most recent arrests of members of the Sudan Congress Party, and more broadly regarding the treatment of members of civil society, political activists and journalists in Sudan since the election in April.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Whilst we have not raised this specific case, we regularly highlight our concerns over the treatment of political parties, civil society and the media with the Government of Sudan, most recently with a member of the National Congress Party in September this year.

*No heading*

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of progress in combating Boko Haram in Nigeria; what assessment they have made of how many deaths and acts of terror that group has been responsible for over the past year; and how many of the girls who have been abducted by Boko Haram have been rescued to date.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we welcome progress made by Nigeria and its neighbours, Boko Haram remains a threat to security in North East Nigeria and the wider region. Due to the nature of Boko Haram attacks, which often take place in remote areas, it is difficult to provide accurate and reliable figures relating to their activities, including the numbers of people killed and abducted. However we estimate that over 20,000 people have been killed, 2.2 million internally displaced and 4.6 million affected by the insurgency.We are aware of several hundred women and children being released by Boko Haram this year. We have stressed to the Nigerian authorities the importance that they are provided with appropriate support.

*No heading*

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the potential benefits to marine conservation and habitats of extending British territorial waters in the sea areas around Gibraltar away from Spain.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The British Government has not made any such assessment. Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar has constitutional competence for marine conservation and habitats in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

*No heading*

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the government of Hungary about the use of tear gas and water cannon on those seeking asylum.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK expects all EU Member States to meet their obligations to comply with international standards including with regards to the fundamental values of respect for human dignity, freedom and respect for human rights, in the same way they have this expectation of us. The British Government recognises that Hungary has received the second highest number of asylum claims of any EU Member State this year to June, reaching unprecedented levels. We continue to follow closely the situation in Hungary and other Central European countries regarding the arrival of unprecedented numbers of people seeking entry and, often, passage onwards. Staff at our Embassy in Budapest have visited the border with Serbia and reception centres and have also met with Hungarian officials. More broadly as the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has stated, the UK and its EU partners must pursue a comprehensive approach which addresses the causes of the migration problem as well as the consequences.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Overseas Trade: Iran

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice and clarification on trading sanctions they have given to United Kingdom businesses wishing to develop trading opportunities in Iran.

Lord Maude of Horsham: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 25 September 2015.The correct answer should have been:

 UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is working with Foreign Office, BIS, the Export Control Organisation, HMRC and HMT to provide coordinated communications to UK industry on sanctions. Activities include 1:1 meetings with major UK companies; group briefings held at the Foreign Office; clear sanctions guidance and FAQs on GOV.UK.   UKTI has tailored its outreach to reflect the needs of business as reflected in its survey of over 1000 companies earlier this year. BIS Helpline operators and Trade Advisors have been briefed on the latest sanctions information.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is working with Foreign Office, BIS, the Export Control Organisation, HMRC and HMT to provide coordinated communications to UK industry on sanctions. Activities include 1:1 meetings with major UK companies; group briefings held at the Foreign Office; clear sanctions guidance and FAQs on GOV.UK.   UKTI has tailored its outreach to reflect the needs of business as reflected in its survey of over 1000 companies earlier this year. BIS Helpline operators and Trade Advisors have been briefed on the latest sanctions information.